Garment packing device



May 23, 1950 n w. w. MCFALL GARMENT PACKING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 14. 1948 l INVENTOR. Wad/:am WN CFQZZ,

May 23, 1950 w. w. Mol-ALL GARMENT PACKING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1 4, 1948 May 23, 1950 w. w. MCFALI.

GARMENT PACKING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 14, 1948 satented May 23,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,508,57 GARMENT PACKING DEvIo William W. Mereu, River Forest, 11i.

Application February 14, 1948, Serial No. 8,395

(o1. zoe-7) 7 Claims. l

This invention pertains to an improved paper board or cardboard container device for use in packaging and transporting garments, to and from a store, dry cleaning establishment, or the like.

It is customary in preparing garments for transportation from such establishments to fold and package the same in a suitable cardboard box, in some cases employing protective tissue paper around the garment article. However, the garment is still housed quite loosely in this type of boX, and is subject to considerable shifting and sliding therein, especially when carried on end in the :arm or hand. The result is a considerable rumpling and wrinkling of the garment, greatly detracting from the appearance thereof.

It is therefore, an object of the invention to provide a container in which a garment, draped over a conventional garment hanger or other suit- .able support, is effectively supported and protected against rumpling or wrinkling during transportation, regardless of jars to the container :'in transportation, inverting thereof or other movement which would normally be likely to re- 'sult in displacement and shifting of the garment Vin the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide -a garment packaging device or container having :provisions for positive engagement at several :zones with a garment disposed therein, said garment being successively draped around suitable supporting portions of the device, in a manner to prevent lateral or longitudinal shifting during transport and under quite rough handling.

/l A more specic object is to provide a garment packaging device of the type described, including a pair of foldably connected panels adapted to be disposed in parallel relationship to laterally encase the garment, and a plurality of integral, inwardly swingable garment sustaining flaps or garment sustaining elements which are successively foldable internally of the margins of one of said panels in a manner to enable a substantial portion of the garment to be draped thereover and positively sustained against shifting.

Yet another object is to provide a simple device of the foregoing character having novel provisions for positively and automatically locking the parts thereof, in a final, latched, garment enclosing and supporting condition.

The foregoing statements are indicative in a general way of the nature of the invention, but other and more specific objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction and operation of the device.

A single embodiment of the invention, as it pertains to the container of the device, is presented herein for purpose of exemplication, but it will be appreciated that the invention is also susceptible of incorporation in other modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

in the drawings,

Fig. l is a top plan view of the device of the invention in the original, flat, knocked-down or blank form thereof, showing in dotted line the manner of initially placing a garment, draped over a garment hanger, in position on the flat blank, preparatory to foldingly manipulating the latter;

Figs. 2 and 3 are plan views illustrating successive steps of folding certain garment sustaining flaps of the device while draping portions of the garment thereover;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are further, somewhat enlarged plan views illustrating the further successive steps of manipulation oi the device to its final, fully completely and latched condition;

Fig. '7 is a further enlarged, fragmentary view in transverse vertical section along the line 1 1 of Fig. 6, indicating by dotted line and arrows the disposition of the various folds of the finally packaged and supported garment about the sustaining elements of the device; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the use of the device in conjunction with a somewhat different but still entirely conventional, type of garment hanger.

At the outset, I desire to point out that although the device of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings in an adaptation thereof for packaging a pair of mens trousers, it is equally well suited to receive a ladies or childs garment of any length, or any other related type of article, and functions equally effectively in packaging the same with ample protection against undesirable rumpling, regardless of impacts or inversion in handling.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular to Fig. l, the one-piece blank from which the device is fabricated from a suitable grade of flexible paper board, cardboard or like inexpensive foldable stock to provide a pair of rectangular side panels li, i2 and a relatively narrow bottom section I3 which is bendably connected to the respective panels along the pair of parallel, creased hinge lines l, whereby said panels may be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another and to a garment G encased therein.

The panel I2 has pairs of separate, end wall relation to panel I2.

3 defining elements I5, I5 flexibly conjoined thereto by the parallel crease lines I'I, which extend practically the entire length of the blank, and each of these elements in turn carries garment sustaining flaps, designated respectively, I8 and I9. Said flaps are of considerable length and Width and are foldably Yconnected to wall elements I5, I5 along the crease lines 2li. Flaps I8, I9 are separated from one another bythe curved slits 2| which extendinwardly to the crease line I'I, thereby also separating elements I5, i6 from one another. These flaps are'adapted to afford garment supporting margins of substantial length, hereinafter referred to, over which portions of the garment may be successively draped in manipulating the device.

The botto-m section I3 carries opposed end forming tabs 22, which are nexibly connected thereto along crease line I1, said tabs being Vadapted to be folded upwardly and inwardly about said line.

The side panell I has end forming elements 23 foldably connected thereto by crease ITI, said elements 23 being of substantially greater Vwidth than the `corresponding elements I5, I6 of the panel I2, in order to externally embrace the latter, with panel Il in spaced relation to flaps I 8, I9 when the latter are folded inwardly. Locking flaps 24 are flexibly conjoined to said end elements 23 along the parallel, creased fold lines 25 and theselocking flaps carry laterally projecting locking ears 23 which are adapted to be inserted in locking slits 2l located inwardly of the side margins of the panel I2. The naps y24 are `also provided adjacent the opposite end thereof enlarged neck portion 33 of a conventional hooktype, Wire garment hanger 34, thereby exposing said shank' or neck externally of the completed device for manual grasping.

The device is completed by a locking flap 35 hinged to the top section 3Q along the crease line 36, and said ap is provided with laterally Vextending locking ears 3l adapted to be inserted in the slits 28 of locking flaps- 2Ll to latch the Vparts in operative garment enclosing condition.

In using the device, the garment G, such as a pair of mens trousers, a skirt, dress or suit, is appropriately draped on the Vgarment hanger Sli, in any usual fashion, one method of which is illustrated.

The neck portion 33 of the hanger is inserted in the slot 32, allowing the length of the garment to overlie the panels I I, I2. With the garment so disposed, the lowermost sustaining naps I8 are first folded inwardly toward one another around crease lines I1, and into overlying relation tothe garment, as illustrated in Fig. 2, thus bringing therend sections I5 into right angular The free end of the garment is then draped reversely over the lower edge 38 of these naps, to the position shown in Fig. 2. Next the flaps'IQ are next swung inwardly around vcreases I'I, 20 to the position illustrated in Fig. 3, V'and theV remaining extremity of the garment is draped over the upper edge 39 of these naps, 'as shown in that figure. VIt will thusbe seen that a positive support is provided at opposed lines of fold of the lower portion of the garment which, in conjunction with its draped support on hanger 3s, effectively resists shifting of the garment when the device is in nal form, even in the event the devi-ce is completely inverted or violently shaken.

The end tabs 22 are next folded upwardly and the panel I2, flaps I8, I9 and draped garment are next folded over along bottom crease lines I 4 to bring the same into superposed relation Vto Vthe upper portion of the garment which is draped on hanger 34, in the fashion shown in Fig. 4. End forming sections 23 of panel II are next folded upwardly around creases Il and flaps 24 are brought inwardly around creases 25 into engagement with panel I2, While at the same time the locking ears 2t of said flaps are preliminarily inserted in the slits 21 of said panel. With the parts in this condition, the top locking flap 35 is folded to superposed relation to panel l2 and to the flaps 2li and its ears 3'? are preliminarily inserted in the other pair of slits 2t. The relationship of elements at this point is shown in Fig. 5. Next, and in order to bring the parts into fully closed relation, it is only necessary to press the end walls 23 toward one another. This causes the locking ears 25, 3l to be fully thrust into their respective latching slits, as illustrated in Fig. 6. At the same time a camming action is exerted by the upper extremities of the slits 28, Z'I on the respective rounded, upwardly facing edges t of ears 3l and edges ed of ears 26, causing the nap 35 to be drawn downwardly and the top section 3% to be snugly engaged with the garment draped over the adja- -cent edge 38 of flaps I8. This automatic, wedgetype locking action facilitates the folding opera- Vtion and secures the parts strongly to prevent inadvertent displacement thereof.

In this final condition of the device, illustrated in Fig. 6, the hanger neck or yoke 33 projects through slot 32 and affords .a handle for grasping and transportation of the package. The device is also well ladapted for use in connection with a garment hanger of the sheet cardboard type, such as is illustrated in Fig. 8 and designated by the reference numeral 4i. This hanger is characterized by an elongated slot 42 in the neck or yoke thereof to afford a hand hole which may be grasped in the manner shown. A separate wire hook element d3 may be disposed in the `container along withthe garment, for subsequent application to the hanger by wedgingly engaging its lower bight end with the material of said ylolle at a central notch 5 adjoining the hand Referring to Fig. 7, i-t can readily be seen that the device positively engages and braces the garment at several points preventing shifting .thereof in any direction under all types of handling of the device. The disposition vof the garment is indicated by dotted Vline `and arrows in that figure. The `garment is creased only a minimum and its original shape is preserved to the utmost. The final package is compact .and attractive in appearance, is Vconveniently carried in fthe hand or arm and, by reason of its inexpensive Iconstruction, is well adapted for large volume use and gratis distribution by merchandising establishments, laundry kor dry clean-ing establishments, and the like. f

`We are aware that those skilledf in the art will appreciate the feasibility of various modifications in the above described structure, falling well within the principle of the invention. We therefore desire that the scope of the latter be construed no more limitedly than is consistent with the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A packaging device for garments and like foldable articles adapted to be draped on a supporting element, comprising a pair of foldably connected side wall forming panels, each consisting of an integral, one-piece wall section, said panels being adapted to be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another on opposite sides of the packaged article, a pair of flaps bendably connected to a lateral margin of one of said panels and independently foldable inwardly to superposed position thereover, said flaps in thus folded condition presenting longitudinally spaced, oppositely facing edges paralleling the axis of fold of said panels and remote from one another over which portions of said foldable article, draped on said supporting element, are successively further draped, and means to secure said panels in said generally parallel relation.

2. A packaging device for garments and like foldable articles adapted to be draped on a supporting element, comprising a pair of foldably connected side wall. forming panels, each consisting of an integral, one-piece wall section, said panels being adapted to' be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another on opposite sides of the packaged article, a pair of flaps bendably connected to a lateral margin of one of said panels and independently foldable inwardly to superposed position thereover, said flaps in thus folded condition presenting longitudinally spaced, oppositely facing edges paralleling the axis of fold of said panels and remote from one another over which portions of said foldable article, draped on said supporting element, are successively further draped, and lockingelements :bendably connected to marginal portions of the other panel and having locking engagement with the first named panel when said panels are disposed in said generally parallel relation.

3. A packaging device for garments and like foldable articles adapted to be draped on a supporting element, comprising a pair of foldably connected side wall forming panels, each consisting of an integral, one-piece wall section, said panels being adapted to be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another on opposite sides of the packaged article, a pair of flaps bendably connected to a lateral margin of one of said panels and independently foldable inwardly to superposed position thereover, said flaps in thus folded condition presenting longitudinally spaced, oppositely facing edges paralleling the axis of fold of said panels and remote from one another over which portions of said foldable article, draped on said supporting element, are successively further draped, and means to secure said panels in said generally parallel relation, said rst named panel being provided with a cut portion for the reception of said supporting element to serve as a handle for the device and the article draped on said element.

4. A container of the type described comprising a pair of panels foldably connected to one another for disposition in substantially parallel relation, a pair of side locking flaps bendably connected to opposed margins of one of said panels to fold about adjacent margins of the other panel into locking relation to the latter, said flaps being provied with marginal locking elements and said last named panel being provided with cuts in which said locking elements are engageable, and a further locking flap bendably connected to a margin of said rst named panel lying between said opposed margins, said further ap having laterally spaced locking members and said side locking flaps having cuts retainingly receiving said members.

5. A container of the type described comprising a pair of panels foldably connected to one another for disposition in substantially parallel relation, a pair of side locking flaps bendably connected to opposed margins of one of said panels to fold about adjacent margins of the other panel cuts into locking relation to the latter, said flaps being provided with marginal locking elements and said last named panel being provided with cuts in which said locking elements are wedgingly engageable, and a further locking ilap bendably connected to a margin of said rst named panel lyingI between said opposed margins, said further flap having laterally spaced locking members and said side locking ilaps having cuts wedgin-gly receiving said members, whereby said locking elements and members frictionally coact with said respective cuts to hold the container in locked condition.

6. A packaging device comprising a one-piece sheet member creased to define a pair of bendably connected panels adapted to be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another and a pair of flaps flexibly connected to each of the opposed side margins of one of said panels, said flaps being adapted to be folded toward one another into superposed relation to said last named panel and to a portion of a garment disposed thereon, the other of said panels being provided with locking flaps flexibly conjoined to opposed side margins thereof which are foldable to superposed relation to said panels and lockingly engageable with one thereof, and further flap means bendably connected to a further margin of said first named panel and lockingly engageable with said locking ilaps.

7. A packaging device comprising a one-piece sheet member creased to dene a pair of panels bendably connected along a medial line and adapted to be disposed in generally parallel relation to one another and a pair of iiaps flexibly connected to each of the opposed side margins of one of said panels, said ilaps being adapted to be folded toward one another into superposed relation to said panel and to a portion of a garment disposed thereon, the other of said panels being provided with locking flaps nexibly conjoined to opposed side margins thereof and a further locking flap connected to a margin thereof spaced from said medial line, which locking flaps are foldable to superposed relation to said panels, said side marginal and further locking flaps having interengaging means to secure the device in latched condition.

WILLIAM W. MCFALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,320,575 Romeo Nov. 4, 1919 1,731,996 Applebaum Oct. l5, 1929 2,273,302 Vineberg Feb. 12, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 620,263 France Jan. 15, 1927 

